Guitarist Brian May of Queen releases 'New Horizons,' first single in 20 years

Brian May of Queen + Adam Lambert performing live Mediolanum Forum in Assago Milan Italy on June 25, 2018.

Roberto Finizio/NurPhoto via Getty Images

On New Year’s Eve, legendary Queen guitarist Brian May unveiled his first solo material in more than 20 years. New Horizons was released along with a CGI-animated music video which depicts one of NASA’s probes leaving Earth and exploring the cosmos.

While holding elements of many of his classic Queen compositions, New Horizons is a breath of fresh air and came as a surprise to many. Equipped with roaring guitar solos and unexpectedly pristine vocals, May, 71, has already set the bar high for 2019.

Known for some of Queen’s most-recognized songs, including We Will Rock You, Hammer to Fall and Fat Bottomed Girls, the British guitarist plans to release his third studio album later in the year. His last effort, Another World, was released in 1998.

The coolest part? May actually wrote New Horizons for NASA’s ongoing mission of the same name. He’s not only a rock god, he’s legitimately an astrophysicist, having earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College London.

WATCH BELOW: Brian May’s fascinating new video, New Horizons, is an homage to the wonders of NASA

The Ultima Thule was discovered in 2014. Its name translates to “beyond the known world.” NASA has now publicly shared picture proof — it looks like a snowman.

It has a diameter of about 30km and was the first reachable planetary object in the Kuiper belt since New Horizons passed Jupiter in 2015, according to NASA.

The point of the mission is to explore, discover and ultimately learn how planets are and were made. Ultima Thule was formed 4.6 billion years ago, making it the most ancient object ever explored in history. It will help us understand how our solar system came to be.

New Horizons will continue to fly until it runs out of fuel in the late 2030s.

Brian May with fans at the World Premiere of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' at SSE Arena Wembley on Oct. 23, 2018 in London, England.

“Okay, Brian May was one of the greatest rock musicians ever, then he went back and finished his PhD. He then became a university chancellor, tagged on to the New Horizons team and created this. Celebrities rarely impress me. But this guy impresses me.”

Brian May, lead guitarist for rock band Queen, is a highly credentialed astrophysicist who collaborated on the mission that recently sent back photos of Ultimate Thule, the planetary body furthest from earth that has been photographed by man. How cool is that? https://t.co/nUHPpow66s